Spices farmers’ companies to be set up in Arunachal Pradesh

New Delhi, April 25 (IANS) Minister for Commerce and Industries Nirmala Sitharaman will on Wednesday inaugurate orientation programme for establishment of Spices Farmers Producers Companies (SFPCs) in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, said a statement on Tuesday.

According to the ministry, the event will be attended by more than 100 spice farmers, NGOs, farmers’ associations and primary processors from the state.

“35 big exporters from across the country will be coming together for a one-day orientation programme and the buyer-seller meet organised by Spices Board at the Banquet Hall of the city,” said the statement.

It also added that officials from the concerned departments/organisations of the state as well as the central government will also be a part of the programme.

The objective of the programme is to operationalise SFPC on pilot basis in three districts — Ziro and Namsai in Arunachal Pradesh for ginger and large cardamom, and in the West district in Sikkim for large cardamom.

Each SFPC will have 500 farmers as members in a sub-division or district.

The farmers will be identified on cluster basis in a village, taluk or district by forming Farmer Interest Group (FIGs), each consisting of 20 farmers. Twentyfive such FIGs will be formed to establish an SFPC, the statement added.